My Dear Severus
by ScopesMonkey
Summary: Just over a year after Lily and James' deaths, Severus Snape meets up a friend of Lily's.


Disclaimer: HP is not mine and I'm not making any money off of this. But original characters and locations do belong to me.

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The knock on the door snapped Severus Snape out of sleep instantly. Without thinking, he closed his hand around the wand on his bedside table and sat up slowly, listening hard. The knock came again, somewhat louder this time.

"Severus, wake up," a familiar voice insisted from the corridor, which was separated from his bedroom by a stout, much locked and spelled door, and by a small living room, which contained only two chairs, an old rug and a rather battered wooden coffee table.

Severus relaxed somewhat upon realizing it was Albus Dumbledore, but kept his wand at the ready. It was easy, so easy, to be fooled, and the suspicion lingered even now, over a year after Voldemort had been defeated and his followers scattered or captured.

Severus hurried through the tiny living room and unlocked the door, suspending the magical seals, and drew the door open carefully. It was indeed Albus Dumbledore, fully dressed, the expression behind his half-moon spectacles set and grim.

"Get dressed and come with me. Bring a cloak."

"Where are we going?" Severus demanded, letting the suspicion in his voice cover the sudden nervousness.

"I can't explain. Not now. Not here. Hurry."

Severus considered refusing, but the firm look in the headmaster's eyes made him think better of it. Dumbledore had been instrumental in ensuring Severus' freedom, in proving that the younger man had turned spy against Voldemort at risk to his own life. Severus owed Dumbledore not just his life, but also his position as Potions master at Hogwarts, where he was out of public scrutiny and safe from the prying eyes of the remaining Death Eaters.

"All right," he grumbled and went and changed, grabbing a dark grey cloak as he left. He slung it over his shoulders and followed Dumbledore through the silent halls of Hogwarts. It was astounding to think, sometimes, how the school had returned to normal so quickly. Here, students slept soundly, unconcerned with their safety.

Some sixth sense made Severus pull up the deep hood on his cloak as they left the confines of the school and headed towards Hogsmeade. Dumbledore was similarly dressed in a dark cloak that covered his entire frame, and he kept his hood up as well, any distinguishing characteristics fading into shadow.

"Albus," Severus grumbled.

"In good time," Dumbledore replied sharply, shaking his head beneath his hood. "This is far enough. Take my arm. We're apparating."

"Where to?" demanded Severus.

"When we get there."

Reluctantly, Severus grasped the older man's arm. He had side-along apparated with Dumbledore only once before, but he trusted the old wizard's skill. But it didn't please him not to know where he was going. Had something happened with one of the Death Eaters? Had they caught someone? Where the rumours about Voldemort's return, which still circulated even now, not just rumours? Was someone onto Severus' trail? He knew he had enemies among the Death Eaters, who believed he had gone soft, although several clandestine meetings, of which Dumbledore was fully aware, was helping to alleviate that. He let the others believe that he, like them, needed to slip back into mainstream wizarding society, to live quietly and wait.

The sudden, sharp tugging and sensation of being spun while falling banished all thoughts from the young wizard's head. He fought against nausea and closed his eyes. The rushing sound pressed into his ears, and just when he imagined he would be deafened, they slipped easily from the stream and landed on a cold bluff overlooking a large, salty body of water. Severus breathed in deeply; he so rarely smelled the ocean and the sudden sensation was strange but not unwelcome.

Dumbledore held up his wand and sent a short burst of blue light low into the sky. For a moment nothing happened, then another wizard apparated, to Severus' surprise. The young man took a step back, but Dumbledore held up a staying hand.

"It's quite all right," he assured Severus, then turned to the other wizard, a middle-aged man with greying brown hair, bright brown eyes, and a pleasant look on his face.

"Going across at this time of night, then, Albus?" he asked genially, obviously familiar with the headmaster.

"Time waits for no man, Gene," Dumbledore replied. The wizard apparently known as Gene chuckled and nodded.

"Too true. Two then?"

"That's right."

"Ever apparated across the Channel, then, young man?" Gene asked, turning to Severus who started.

"The English Channel? No. I had no idea that was possible."

"Oh, it takes a bit, and you never get used to it, no matter what anyone says. Well, stand between me and Albus and take an arm on either side. That's it. Best close your eyes. It doesn't help but it might make you feel better about it."

Severus did as suggested, fighting down anxiety in his stomach. They were crossing the Channel to France. For what? Someone must be on his trail. Dumbledore needed to hide him, which would explain the midnight travel, the suddenness, the secrecy.

He felt sick.

"Away we go!" Gene exclaimed, with far too much enthusiasm than Severus thought was warranted.

They were yanked away from the ground and Severus' eyes flew open despite his best efforts to keep them shut. Gene had been right; it was better to have them closed. The frigid waters of the Channel flashed past beneath them, dark and fathomless. Severus shut his eyes again, redoubling his grip on the men's arms.

Then it was over, and they were settling soft grass in the middle of an open field also overlooking the Channel, but in the opposite direction. Severus managed to pry his hands loose from the men's arms and stood up straight, albeit somewhat shakily.

"That's it then, Albus?" Gene asked cheerfully.

"For tonight," Dumbledore agreed.

"Well, when you want to cross back, Remi will be on duty until dawn. After that, it's Patrice. Good night, then."

With a wink at Severus, who was still reeling mentally, he vanished. Severus waited a moment, then rounded on Dumbledore.

"Who is it, then?" he demanded. "Who's after me?"

"You're perfectly safe," Dumbledore assured him, holding up both hands placatingly. "I've brought you over here to see someone, and it's her safety I'm concerned with, not yours.."

Severus was taken aback by this and blinked in surprise.

"Who?" he asked, rummaging through his memory of women he knew that may be in hiding. For a moment, his heart leapt at the thought that Lily was still alive somehow, and hiding out from Voldemort's followers. But no, he had seen her body, and if she were still alive, she would have her son with her.

"Not here. Come with me. It's close enough to walk."

They set out, heading along the ridge of the coast for several minutes. The night was just bright enough to see by, with a sliver of moon hanging near the western horizon and the stars glittering above them. Shadows from the long grass danced about them, blowing in the gentle, salty breeze that was coming off the Channel. They were following a path of sorts, barely there, wide enough for single file only. There were times when Severus could barely make out the trail, but Dumbledore seemed to know precisely where he was headed, even in the darkness. Around them, small nocturnal animals scuttled about, and owls, wild owls, hooted in the distance. A dark, silent form glided past them, disappearing into the grass only to emerge a moment later, something dangling in its claws. Severus turned his attention away from the hunting owl and kept it on the headmaster. In the darkness, they were like two shadows, cloaks rustling with the grass, moving silently, even their footfalls muted.

Dumbledore veered off so suddenly that Severus would have lost him had he not been paying close attention. He ducked beneath the low-hanging branches of a tree and followed the older wizard out of the grass into a thin wood. The trees cut off much of the light, and Dumbledore pulled out his wand, casting only the barest of glows ahead of them. Severus was forced to do the same after stumbling over a tree root. Keeping his displeasure to himself, he kept going.

He estimated they had walked for about half an hour before he saw warm light coming from the windows of a small cottage nestled in a tiny clearing, surrounded on all sides by the forest, like a fortress. He grabbed Dumbledore's arm and spun the older man around.

"Is it Lily?" Severus demanded harshly.

In the glow from his wand, Severus could see the sympathetic expression on Dumbledore's face.

"Lily_is_ dead, Severus. You saw her."

The disappointment came anyway, but Severus set his jaw and nodded.

"Who is it then?" he asked.

"Not out here," Dumbledore said, shaking his head and beckoning Severus toward the cottage. With an abrupt sigh, the younger man followed, extinguishing his wand once they were close enough for the cottage lights to allow him to see.

"She doesn't sleep much at night," Dumbledore said, as if answering Severus' unspoken question as to why this woman was awake in the middle of the night. Severus wished he wasn't. Now that they'd arrived, he found fatigue creeping back in.

Dumbledore extinguished his wand as well and rapped on the door.

"It's Albus," Dumbledore said gently through the wooden barrier. Severus heard footsteps approaching and the door was unlocked and drawn slowly inward. The woman behind it was framed in the light for a moment, so all that Severus could see was that she was short with dark hair. Then she stepped back, her eyes narrowing at Severus, her expression instantly suspicious and he gasped despite himself.

"You!" the woman snapped accusingly, then flung her dark-eyed glare at Dumbledore. "Why did you bring _him_ here?"

"They said you were dead," Severus interrupted before Dumbledore could speak. The woman glared at him again, then shook her head.

"Of course they did," she snapped.

"Erin," Dumbledore said gently. "Are you going to let us in?"

"Why should I let _him_ into my house?" Erin demanded, jerking her chin at Severus.

"I brought him to talk to you," Dumbledore replied. "Believe me, he won't hurt you."

"Oh yes?" Erin sneered. "He might just want to turn me over to his Death Eater buddies for the reward."

"I do not have Death Eater '_buddies_'" Severus replied in a cold tone. Erin gave him a long, cutting look and Severus returned it. Dumbledore snapped his fingers, dragging their attention back to him, and shook his head curtly.

"No one's going to betray anyone here," he said. "And it's chilly out. Please let us in."

Erin hesitated for a moment, and Severus found himself hoping she would turn them away. It was difficult to see her again, despite the relief that she hadn't died and the confusion over why he was told that she had. Part of him, a big part, wished it were Lily standing there instead of Erin.

Then she stepped back, clearing the entryway, and Dumbledore stepped in. Severus followed, knowing he could not refuse, because Dumbledore would get him inside somehow. Erin shut the door, locked it, and reset the magical seals on it. Severus was impressed by the speed with which she did so; obviously her auror training had not left her in the year in which she had been presumed dead.

"All right, you're inside," Erin said, crossing her arms, glaring at Dumbledore. "Now tell me why you brought Snape."

"Erin, you need to talk with someone your own age, not just with me. And you were both friends with Lily."

"I talk to David," Erin said shortly. Severus remembered David well enough; he was Erin's older brother and had been wanted by Voldemort. "And Lily wasn't his friend at the end. He was a Death Eater."

"He_was_," Dumbledore stressed. "And he turned spy for us at great cost to his own safety."

"Oh yes," Erin spat. "While the rest of us didn't bother with becoming Death Eaters ourselves, but took on the cost of fighting them right from the start! And him being a spy didn't save Lily or James!"

Severus glared at her; he couldn't care less about James Potter being dead, but he would have thrown himself in front of Voldemort's wand to save Lily. Before he could make a remark about Sirius, Dumbledore spoke again:

"No, it didn't," he agreed. "Lily is dead, but both of you are still alive and you both suffered more than anyone should have. You need to talk. I'll be back after dawn."

"What?!" Erin snapped. "You're leaving?! You can't leave him here!"

"I can and will. As I said, you need to talk to someone your own age. Someone who isn't David. You can't go on living like this, Erin."

Dumbledore pulled out his wand and suspended the magical seals, then unlocked the door.

"I don't want to talk to him!" Erin protested.

Dumbledore turned back to her, gazing over the rims of his glasses.

"We don't always get to do what we want to do," he replied, then winked at Severus, stepped out of the door and walked down the path. Erin pushed past Severus, grabbing the door.

"Albus!" she yelled. "Albus!"

Dumbledore turned, waved, and vanished. Erin stood still for a moment, then swore, slamming the door and locking it, resetting the seals again. She turned towards Severus, her eyes blazing. She was very pretty, despite the anger, but her face was marred somewhat by a thin, white scar that scored her skin diagonally from her left temple just above her eyebrow to the right side of her jaw. It had been worked on by healers, Severus knew; he could tell that just by looking, even if he hadn't known. But scars inflicted by magical means were impossible to heal fully, especially when the spell had been intended to kill. Severus knew that very well; he had seen the lightning scar on Harry's forehead after the boy had been rescued by Dumbledore. Erin had been carrying her scar since she'd been a young child, but not so young as Harry. Behind the scar, her features were fine, and her brown eyes were bright.

"If it makes you feel better, I don't particularly want to talk to you, either," Severus said coolly.

"Good," Erin snapped. She gave him another glare for good measure. Severus crossed his arms, giving her a level look in return. He wondered how easily he could suspend the magical seals on the door. If he did so, he could just leave, walk back the way he'd come, call one of the wizards who transported people across the Channel.

"I'm having tea," Erin said shortly. "Want a cup?"

"I thought we weren't talking," Severus commented dryly.

"I don't talk while I'm drinking," Erin replied. Severus shrugged and followed her from the tiny living room into the tiny kitchen. She fixed him a cup, without asking what he took in it and Severus growled inwardly. Despite himself, he wanted to know what had happened, how she had survived. They had been in Slytherin together, and in the same year. He hadn't known her very well, but well enough.

Erin had been the only Slytherin student to enter service to the Ministry as an auror. It hadn't made her very popular in her seventh year, but Erin had never bothered much with that, and had kept to herself for the most part. Severus remembered she'd been friends with a giant of a student named Volsgang Van Herig, although Severus had no idea what had happened to Van Herig after their seventh year. Perhaps he was dead, perhaps he was labouring away at some job somewhere. Somehow, Severus doubted the latter; Slytherins were placed into that house for their ambition.

Being an auror was how Erin had met Lily. In their seventh year, Hogwarts had started a program to begin training seventh year students in what they would need to know to be aurors. Lily had joined of course, along with that insufferable Potter, and Black, for all the good that had done the wizarding world. One of Lily's friends, who had known her since her first year, Dria Bainbridge, had joined as well. Of the three girls and two boys, only one of them was alive and free, although Severus was beginning to suspect that Erin lived in a prison all her own.

He took the mug thrust at him and cursed Dumbledore silently. Instead of taking a sip of the steaming liquid, he set it aside, on the wooden counter, and glanced around. The kitchen was very small, with barely enough room for one person to move around. A window looked out into the blackness, partly covered with a bright red curtain.

"What happened to you?" he finally asked. "The Ministry told everyone that you died."

"Of course they did," Erin said flatly. "I thought we weren't going to talk."

"I doubt Dumbledore has gone far," Snape commented. "And he always has his reasons for the things he does."

"Let him," Erin replied, leaving the kitchen and returning to the living room, where she curled up in an old, large blue armchair. Severus took the other chair without being invited. It matched the first one, but was less worn, obviously not Erin's favorite seat. Erin shot him a look, but it seemed less angry, more resigned. Severus glanced around quickly, taking stock of her cottage. There was an old wooden coffee table between them, and two bookshelves lined the walls, filled with books, but not crammed, as if she was carefully rationing the amount of reading material she had. The wooden floor was covered with a brightly rug that looked Persian. A small fire crackled in the fireplace, but the mantle was curiously bare, except for one picture of David Knight, Erin's older brother, waving happily from somewhere that did not look like England.

Erin followed his gaze and saw him looking at the photograph.

"You never caught him," she said with triumph in her voice.

Severus nodded.

"You have no idea that amount of false information I fed to Voldemort about him."

Erin gave him a startled look and Severus arched an eyebrow.

"You never believed Dumbledore that I became a spy for the Order."

"No," Erin said shortly. "I didn't."

"Why not?"

"Lily and James died."

Severus raised both his eyebrows this time, and took a sip of his tea.

"I wasn't the one who gave them their location," he pointed.

He had expected an angry reaction, but Erin's face shut down, as if a switch had been flicked off. Severus was startled somewhat at the blankness in her eyes.

"I know who betrayed them," she said in a level, hollow voice, and it sounded as if her words were coming from a long way away.

"I expect you do," Severus replied.

This time, her eyes flared, focusing hard on him.

"You think I knew?" she demanded.

"Did you?" Severus asked.

Erin put down her tea mug with a definite "thunk" and stared at him.

"If I had known, I would have killed Sirius myself to stop him," she replied in a flat voice. "He was lucky he got to Askaban before I saw him. You ask me if I knew? No, I had no idea. I have asked myself why I didn't know for over a year now. How could I have missed it, Severus? I lived with him. I was in love with him. But when Albus told me you had turned spy for us, it made some sense. You must have been a good actor. Sirius was, too."

"That good?"

"If he hadn't been, Lily and James would still be alive," Erin replied, her voice once more curiously level. This time, Severus did see the pain in her eyes. He made himself pause, and wondered what it would be like to live with that. She had been Sirius' girlfriend for nearly a year before he had betrayed Lily and James to their death.

"Is that the reason for all of this?" he asked, gesturing to the cottage around him.

Again, Erin's face seemed to shut down.

"No," she muttered, shaking her head, her eyes darting aside.

Severus sat silently for a moment, then sighed, shaking his head.

"Montrow", he said and saw Erin flinch, only the tiniest bit.

"The Ministry never found him," he continued, knowing he'd stumbled onto something. "They found the others you'd been after, and they found Fallyne O'Callum's body. But they never found you. Or him."

"It's because he's still alive," Erin replied, still looking away.

Severus had heard rumours about that, but had been very careful not to listen too closely to them, or to hear too much. He had no desire to know where Sidonius Montrow was, nor for the man to find out where Severus was. From what he had been able to glean, even Lucius Malfoy didn't actually know where Montrow was, which was a good sign.

"Why are you hiding here instead of finding him?" Severus demanded.

Erin gave him a cold, angry look, attempting to hide no small amount of hurt at his question.

"He escaped you," Severus persisted. "The others didn't, did they? Why let him go?"

"Why would you think I could catch him?" she retorted.

"Because Erin Knight was a damn good auror!" Severus shot back. "Everyone thought you wouldn't be, you know, but you're a _Slytherin_! You _had_ to be good at what you did. Ambition, Erin! You had it in spades, like the rest of us, but you put it work for the Ministry. Now you're here," he gestured to the tiny cottage. "No Slytherin worth anything would end up like this!"

Erin slammed down her tea mug, the liquid sloshing over the side.

"Don't you preach about Slytherin to me!" she snapped, her brown eyes flaring. "Don't you _dare_ talk to me about ambition! You think my house in Hogwarts determined everything I became? You think that being a Slytherin was supposed to mean something to me?"

"Yes!" Severus shot back. "It did, or else the hat wouldn't have picked you for Slytherin! You _are_ more than this. You're from a pure-blood line, too! Is there any wonder you were in Slytherin?"

Erin shook her head abruptly.

"The hat also picked Tom Riddle for Slytherin and look where that got us," she replied, her voice pitched low and angry. "All the ambition and full-blood pride of Slytherin brought us nothing but grief. Do you want to talk about pure bloods and ambition? Voldemort wasn't a pure blood, and neither are you. Oh, don't look so surprised that I know that; I know more about all of you Death Eaters than I ever want to! You know what pure blood ambition did for me? This!" She gestured angrily at her face, at the thin scar that cut a faint diagonal line. "It gave me a father who was a dark wizard, who killed my mother and would have killed me if David hadn't killed him first! That's what it got me. And for David's trouble of saving me, it got both of us on the death list with Voldemort! My father was a good servant of his, oh yes. I hear he wasn't too happy when my father died!"

Severus forbore comment. She was right about that; she and David Knight had been on Voldemort's personal list, because David had killed his father in order to save the life of his younger sister. The spell that would have killed Erin had ricocheted and caught her, scarring her but not killing her.

"I know that," Severus said coolly. Not many people did, but the Death Eaters had been told how Erin got her scar. "And that's all the more reason you should be out there looking for Montrow. He would kill you if he had the chance. Maybe he's not killing wizards now, but maybe it will be Muggles for awhile, and he _will_ work his way back up to wizards, only not pure bloods."

Erin sat back in her chair abruptly.

"I've already done enough," she said, her voice again taking on that curiously flat tone.

Something made a connection in Severus' mind.

"What_did_ you do?" he asked, but more gently now. Goading her had worked; she'd begun talking without thinking about what she was saying, letting down her guard. But Severus felt that he was stepping onto thin ice now, and had to test its weight carefully. More had happened than he knew, and he suddenly suspected that this was what Dumbledore was after.

"What do you mean?" Erin snapped.

"Something happened the day you found O'Callum, didn't it?" he asked, certain he was onto something, but not knowing what. "_That's_ why you're here. It's not Montrow, is it?"

Erin looked away abruptly and didn't answer. Severus kept quiet, letting the silence fill up the room until it made her turn back to him. She clenched her hands into fists, her jaw set, her eyes bright. Severus waited.

"They didn't kill Fallyne," she said hurriedly, as if to get the words out before she could change her mind. Severus said nothing, raising an eyebrow coolly, waiting, but his attention was focused now. Erin took a deep breath, rubbing her palms against her thighs, then balling her hands into fists again. "It was me. I killed her."

Severus bit down hard on the instinctive response of "why?" and took a deep silent breath before asking:

"What happened?"

She looked at him, as if surprised that he wasn't blaming her, and Severus saw the reason for this tiny cottage, for her being in hiding. She was hiding from herself, from whatever it was that had happened.

Erin was silent for a long time, and Severus did not interrupt her. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet, but he could hear the effort it required to keep herself under control.

"They tortured her, you know. Used the Cruciatus Curse on her. When I found her, she was still alive. I had to kill MacNarren to get to her. It was the only way, but he was the only one guarding her. She was still alive, Severus, but she never would have lived. She knew that. Did you know she was training to be a healer?" Severus nodded; he'd known Lily well enough to remember what most of her friends had done after completing their seventh year. "Fallyne knew she was going to die. It was just a matter of time. So she told me what to do to end it sooner rather than later. And I did it."

Severus nodded slowly.

"And Concher and Michaels?" he asked.

"They came back, with Montrow. I killed Concher with the killing curse before she even saw me, and then Michaels. Montrow was able to get to his wand and we dueled, and he hit me, I think he thought it was enough to kill me. He left, but I was still alive."

"You didn't go after him."

"No. Fallyne was dead. I failed in what I was sent by the Ministry to do, to bring her home. And I used the killing curse on three people."

"You had Ministry permission. All the aurors did."

Erin nodded distractedly.

"I know," she said. "But I still killed them. And Fallyne–"

"Does anyone know about that?" Severus asked.

"Only David. If the Ministry ever found out, they'd toss me in Azkaban, right next to Sirius."

Severus snorted. Erin looked up at him quickly.

"I doubt that," he said dryly. "You said yourself she was going to die anyway, and she was a healer-in-training. That hardly counts as betraying a good friend to her death."

"But I still killed her, Severus. You have no _idea_ what that's like!"

Severus leaned forward.

"Yes," he replied firmly. "I do."

Erin blinked, looking surprised. Severus leaned back again.

"Do you think that being a spy was simply trading information back and forth? Do you think I never had to kill a witch or wizard because they'd been captured? Do you think I never had to watch people die and pretend not to care?"

"I– suppose not," Erin admitted.

"And do you think, that if your situations had been reversed, Fallyne would not have done for you what you did for her?"

Erin stared at him, as if that had never occurred to her. For a moment, she was still, then she raised her hands to her face and collapsed into tears. Severus rose quickly, pulling her to her feet and holding her carefully as she shuddered. He would have preferred not to; he have any fondness for hugging or crying, but he wasn't about to let Lily's friend suffer this alone. And she was a Slytherin. It meant something.

"No–" Erin managed, her voice shaking so hard it was difficult to make her words. "I never thought of that."

And she had been carrying that guilt for over a year, trying to hide from it, never succeeding. Her sobs died quickly, not, Severus thought because she'd stopped crying, but because she had forced them to. But she couldn't stop shuddering. Her small body felt like it was going to collapse, she was shaking so hard. Severus hung onto her for what seemed like a very long time, half worried that she was going to have a seizure or pass out.

Eventually, the trembling calmed, but didn't stop completely. A year's worth of guilt and grief was not going to work itself out quickly.

"You didn't use the Cruciatus on Fallyne," Severus said firmly. "You didn't kill her. Do you know how many people died alone, without anyone they knew with them? I don't. Lily died saving her son, knowing that Potter was already dead. Fallyne died knowing you were alive and that you'd tried to save her."

"But she's still dead!" Erin cried, pulling away from Severus, the expression on her face so agonized that he felt his heart, which he had believed fully hardened, twist. "Fallyne, Lily, James, Dria!"

Severus had forgotten that Dria Bainbridge had been Erin's friend as well. She had died at the Hogwarts station, protecting the disembarking students from wild Dementors, holding a patronus charm so long the effort had killed her. But the students had survived. Before that, Severus hadn't known the patronus charm could be lethal to its caster.

"What about Samantha Walker? Or Van Herig? Or–" Severus' lips twisted in distaste. "Remus Lupin?"

"I barely knew Sam! Or Remus!" Erin retorted.

"What about Van Herig? Is he still alive?"

She glared at him, but nodded once, quickly.

"Last I heard."

"And that would be recently, I assume," Severus said, seeing the reluctant agreement in her face. She was a Slytherin. She'd want to know. "And Samantha was Lily's friend. I heard she married that boyfriend of hers, Jeremy McNaughton."

"So did I," admitted Erin.

"So there _is_ still an Erin who wants to be out there!" Severus snapped. "You_know_ Volsgang and Samantha would want to see you! You _know_ they wouldn't care about Fallyne, or even have to know about it! But you're still here!"

Erin scrubbed at her face with her hands.

"What do you care?" she demanded.

"I care because Dumbledore dragged me here to do so. I care because Lily was my friend, too, and you were in my house in my year. I care because you're here wasting your life, which you still have, may I add, while Montrow is still out there. _He_ killed Fallyne, Erin, not you. And do you think Lily and Dria Bainbridge would want you here, living like this? Or Fallyne, for that matter?"

Erin sighed heavily, glaring at him, but shook her head.

"No," she admitted in a soft voice. "I don't."

"Then don't do it!" Severus snapped. "Don't let Montrow win. That's what you're doing here! You can't change what happened and you are not the only person it happened to. But you're an auror and you are hiding here instead of doing your job!"

"I had to come here, Severus!" Erin retorted. "I was next! Sirius_knew_ where I was, because I damn well lived with him! It was only because I wasn't David's secret keeper that he couldn't find him and turn him over to Voldemort! But if I'd gone home, there would have been someone waiting for me, and not a friend. He betrayed Lily and James! What would stop him from betraying me after that? Besides, you're one to talk! Hiding away at Hogwarts, pretending like you aren't afraid of anything, like this was some choice you made!

Severus grabbed her by the upper arm, visibly startling her. Erin tried to pull away, but he didn't loosen his grip.

"I_am_ doing my job," he hissed. "And my life before the Order was the Death Eaters. Do you want me to go back to that? _You_, on the other hand, do have something to go back to."

Erin narrowed her eyes.

"Yes," she said icily. "Perhaps I could go back to the flat where I lived with Sirius."

Severus released her abruptly, taking half a step back, nodding.

"I hadn't forgotten about that," he said.

"Neither have I. Believe me, every day, neither have I."

"Black is in Azkaban," Severus snapped. "You are not. You're safe from him, but _none of us_ are safe from Montrow. You spent four months tracking him, and another week after that when he'd taken O'Callum! You know how his mind works, Erin! Oh, the Ministry's had other aurors looking, but no one's come close. Believe me, I'd know. We need you out there! And more than that, _you_ need yourself to be out there. This," he gestured impatiently to the tiny cottage. "Isn't good enough. Not for a Slytherin. Not for an auror."

Erin stared at him, and Severus could see the conflict raging behind her eyes.

"Let Sirius Black rot in Azkaban! Go catch Montrow and get back to your life. Don't let either of them win," Severus hissed, lowering his voice.

"That's easy for you to say!" Erin cried. "Sirius was a bastard to you! Oh yes, I know he was, I admit it!"

"And to you, too!" Severus shot back. "He killed Lily and Potter and where did that leave you? It must have crossed your mind that the Ministry would question you if you surfaced right after that happened! He abandoned you, Erin. It's your turn to abandon him. He never deserved you, and you know it."

Erin set her jaw, taking a deep breath. She stared hard at him for a long moment, then let out a deep sigh, sinking back down into her chair. Tears spilled from her eyes and left tracks down her cheeks, but she was crying silently. Severus waited, tensely, then Erin gave him a curt nod.

"I'll think about it," she conceded in a clipped tone of voice, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Good," he snapped, feeling drained. He turned on his heel toward the door. Through the windows, he could see the sky beginning to lighten. Fatigue began catching up with him quickly.

"Where are you going?" Erin demanded, rising again.

"Home," Severus replied. "You might not sleep much at night, but the rest of us do. It's been interesting, but I'm tired. You can let me out or I'll suspend the seals myself."

Erin frowned, but pulled out her wand, murmuring a few incantations under her breath. Severus turned the locks back and pulled open the door before she said:

"Wait."

He paused, then turned back to her. In three long strides, Erin had crossed the small room. She put her hands on either side of Severus' face and drew him down, placing a kiss on his forehead. Severus was surprised at the reaction it sparked in him; he had thought himself finished with any kind of human affection, but Erin's gesture warmed his hardened heart, if only a little.

"Talk to Van Herig, at least," Severus advised, then stepped out and shut the door behind him.

He drew a deep breath and let it out slowly, hearing the locks slide home a moment later. He barely needed his acute senses to tell him that Erin had reset the magical seals around her cottage. Severus took another deep breath of the cool air, catching a hint of sea salt on the breeze. Overhead, the moon was setting to the west and the stars were just starting to fade as dawn edged over the horizon, turning the shadows an inky blue, faintly distorting the trees around him so that they looked taller and darker. It was just enough light not to be able to see by. Severus took out his wand and lit it gently, gazing slowly at the small clearing. Then he shook his head and walked away from the cottage, down the narrow path.

Albus Dumbledore was waiting for him patiently several meters away, sitting apparently comfortably on a tree stump. He rose to greet Severus but didn't say anything. The younger man shook his head and arched an eyebrow.

"You ask her yourself," he said to which Dumbledore simply nodded. "Now, I want to go home."

"This way, then," Dumbledore said.

Without a backward glance, Severus followed the headmaster back into the trees.

* * *

Severus looked up when he heard the knock on his office door. Quickly, he flicked a sealed envelope between two books, then pushed some scrolls over the books, all while whistling a short, quiet command to the owl perched on his bookshelf. The owl responded to the now-familiar signal by spreading its wings and fluttering into the shadows, turning its bright-eyed gaze away. 

"Come!" Severus called and the door opened to reveal Albus Dumbledore, bearing a copy of the _Daily Prophet_.

"I thought you'd want to see this," the headmaster said. Severus stood and took the proffered paper, raising his eyebrows as he read the headline and byline:

**SIDONIUS MONTROW CAPTURED!**

**AUROR ERIN KNIGHT, PRESUMED DEAD FOR THREE YEARS, CAPTURES WANTED DEATH EATER IN CORK, IRELAND.**

Severus scanned the article quickly, then looked up and nodded. A small, knowing smile tugged at the edges of Dumbledore's lips and twinkled in his eyes.

"Keep it. It's worth reading," the headmaster said.

"I look forward to it," Severus replied. "I'm sure I will be hearing from the others shortly."

"I'll be interested to know when you do," Dumbledore said, no longer smiling.

"I will let you know. They'll have something to say about this."

Dumbledore nodded and left the Potions master alone. When Severus was certain the other man had gone, he sat back down and read the article fully, smirking to himself in places. It had taken Erin two years to find Montrow, but she'd accomplished what no other auror had in this case, and had even been able to locate Montrow before Malfoy or the others could.

He set the paper aside and took the envelope out between the books, slicing it open neatly. There was a picture inside, which he pulled out along with the letter. The photographed showed a smiling and waving Erin Knight with a rather handsome man whom Severus vaguely recognized. He had probably gone to Hogwarts and Severus had probably seen him in the corridors in passing; he wasn't a Slytherin or Severus would have remembered his name. He had his arm around Erin's shoulders, though, and was also grinning and waving. Severus smirked at the two of them, shaking his head, then picked up the letter.

"My Dear Severus," it read. "By now you've heard the news. I'm sure the _Prophet_ will have a field day with it. And now it's over. But life moves on, doesn't it? And so, it seems, must we…"


End file.
